Threatened
by KristenTheKittyKat
Summary: Tragedy strikes the Jade Palace. Mantis, one of the only ones unscathed, must pick up the pieces of a certain, devastated tiger. Being threatened turns out to be more of a mental threat then a physical one... NO TIGRESS/MANTIS ROMANCE! Now a oneshot.


Alot of y'all have read this story already, but I decided to revise it :) It's a oneshot now! So, uh... enjoy?

**DISCLAIMER: Didn't own it the first time it came out, don't own it now...**

_**~Kitty~**_

Rain flew through the air in every directions.

Mantis sighed, nervously scraping his "thingies" on the floor. Glancing around his room, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty and sympathetic. He was very upset, but not as much as everyone else.

It had been a regular day. Mostly. They had woken up at the gong, greeted their master, then headed off to training. After a grueling day on the course (with more damage thanks to Tigress), they all went to dinner, where Po had cooked some more of his amazing noodles. But in the middle of their dinner was where it turned bad...

_Mantis smiled as he ate. He shoveled another spoonful into his small mouth, savoring the taste of the famous noodles._

_"These are great," Viper complimented, smiling sweetly. "As always."_

_"Po, can I have your consent to marry your noodles?" Mantis asked, earning laughs from everyone._

_"Why? You would just end up eating them," Monkey joked._

_"True."_

_The conversation went from there. Everyone was enjoying themselves, including Tigress. But suddenly, Shifu trudged into the kitchen, ears pulled back and tail dragging limp behind him. That gained their attention immediately._

_"... Master?" Tigress asked cautiously. When Shifu was upset, it was dangerous territory to tread on. "Is everything okay?"_

_He sighed, and suddenly he looked much older and weary than he was. "No, nothing is okay."_

_"Master, you're freaking us out," Mantis said, his antennae twitching._

_"I have just received terrible news," Shifu said. He took out a letter, opening it and sighing again. "There are some more endangered species on the list."_

_Everyone froze._

_To be endangered meant that someone had to be extra careful, or they could end up as the last of their species. It was a horrible tragedy when that happened. Only the species that was going extinct knew when they were put on the endangered list unless they wanted to tell their friends, but if their species' numbers continued to decline, the Council made it known not to harm that specific species._

_"Actually, I... I have kept some information longer than I should have," Shifu admitted. "But with these new additions, I thought it would be best to tell you." He paused. "If any of you are on this list, would you have a problem with any others knowing about it?" At their silence, he nodded. "I didn't think so._

_"Now, before I tell you of these..." He took a deep breath. "I'd like you all to know that I have been moved to the Vulnerable status."_

_All of them were shocked. Viper gasped. "Master, I'm-"_

_He held up a hand to stop her. "It's quite alright, Viper._

_"Now, Po, Crane, Monkey," he addressed. The three all froze. "You have been moved to the Endangered status."_

_They all looked at each other, too shocked to speak. Finally finding words, Crane asked, "Is this a joke?"_

_"I doubt it," Monkey said bitterly._

_"But, but, no!" Po shouted. "I can't be endangered!"_

_"You are, Po," Shifu said quietly, glancing down. "I'm sorry."_

_"How many?" Monkey asked quietly. "How many of us are left?"_

_Shifu paused, looking at the letter. "I have less than 10,000 left, red-crowned cranes have a little over 2,700 left." Crane glanced down, avoiding everyone's sympathetic glances. "Pandas are less than 1,600." Po only gaped at Shifu. "Langurs... less than 1,200." Monkey clenched his fists, glaring at the table._

_"Please tell me that's all, master," Viper pleaded._

_Shifu avoided her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that."_

_They all froze again. "Master?" Tigress asked._

_"There's one more person," Shifu said, and he looked at Tigress. "I'm sorry, Tigress."_

_All eyes were on her. She gripped the table, squeezing her eyes shut. "How many, and what status?"_

_"Critically Endangered." Pausing, he sighed. "There are less than twenty South China Tigers."_

_Her red eyes flew open and she stood up. "W-What?" She looked terrified for a moment, then it melted away to anger. She glared at Shifu. "How long did you know about this?"_

_"Wha-?"_

_"You said you kept some information a secret before this," she snarled. "Plus, there aren't just suddenly less than twenty of my kind!" She looked down, quiet. "How could you keep this a secret from me?"_

_"I just got the letter saying you were Critically Endangered," he defended. "Besides, when you were first listed as Vulnerable, you were just a child-"_

_"You knew **THAT LONG**?" she roared. Her claws unsheathed. "How could you?"_

_"Tigress," Mantis soothed, "I think you should calm d-"_

_"Calm down!" she shouted in rage. "How can I calm down? It's easy for you because you aren't **CRITICALLY ENDANGERED**!"_

_Mantis, along with everyone else, flinched. Tigress stormed toward the door._

_"Tigress!" Po shouted, getting up to stop her._

_"Leave me alone!" she screeched, slamming the door shut loudly._

Cringing at the vivid memory, Mantis sighed again. He hated that his friends were feeling bad.

Actually, now that Mantis thought about it, they weren't actually friends. They were all much more than friends; family.

Master Shifu was like the father of the group. He would watch out for them, guide them, make the ultimate sacrifices for them. He had never showed them much love, but that had changed when Po showed up. He would come and eat dinner with them, train with them, even laugh with them. He had even teamed up with Viper as they put on a show; Shifu had played the flute while Viper gracefully danced.

Viper. Viper was the little sister of the group. Even though they all had their strengths, Viper was the "weakest" of the group. Master Shifu had years of muscle stacking up even though he didn't look like it, Tigress had the natural power of a tiger, Crane had amazing strength in his wings believe it or not, Mantis himself was the strongest despite his size, Monkey had primal strength, and Po had actually gained some muscle. Viper hated it, but her species wasn't built for strength. She made up for her small lack of strength with personality. She was easily the nicest. She never judged anyone; in fact, when Mantis had first come to the Jade Palace, she was the only one that believed him when he told the rest that he was actually quite strong. She was very beautiful, strikingly. It came in handy for a few missions, though they only used it when absolutely needed and only when every other possibility was shot down. Viper would slither her way into the bad guys vision and seducing all men in sight, and sometimes if the numbers of the enemy was large Tigress would surprisingly offer to go with her (though she said it was to protect her). They left the men absolutely breathless (they would always insist on dressing up), vulnerable, and distracted. She was also the most caring person he had ever met. Well, Po was giving her a run for her money.

Oh, that panda. He was the newest addition to their mismatched family. He was very... enthusiastic. He was an interesting person. He was one of those "the jar is half full" people. He was the comic relief. He was the little brother, surprisingly. He was immature, but selfless. Mantis was glad that he had joined them. He, Monkey, and Po would always play pranks on the girls, then they would run to Crane for help. Crane couldn't beat the rage of a pissed off tiger and angry snake, but he COULD persuade them not to kill the other men.

Ah, Crane. He was the one, along with Tigress, that kept the group from exploding into a panicked chaos. Yep, level-headed Crane. He was very sarcastic, almost having a dry sense of humor. He was still the most mature of the group (even Tigress had been known to stick her tongue out at people). He could do this freaky thing with the wind, and when Mantis had asked about it, he said that Oogway had taught it to him and that it was mainly a technique for birds, even though Master Shifu knew it and Tigress was getting there. Crane was the big brother of the group, ready to catch them when they fell. He was very fast, almost as fast as Master Shifu. He was delightfully and humorously awkward around people he didn't know, even passing off as shy. Outside of the group at the Jade Palace, he didn't really talk much. He was probably the hardest to gain the trust of, and he had a certain aura that could make him even more intimidating than Tigress (Tigress's intimidation was more of brute force, while Crane's was more of the mysterious type). He was the best at stealth mode. He was the silent type for sure, and his rain hat only added to the mystery that was Crane.

Mantis was brought out of his musings when two fury-filled shouts came from the Training Hall. Sighing, Mantis decided to check on the two. He made his way to the Training Hall, but once he got there, he stayed in the shadows.

Tigress was destroying the course (again), though this time, there were tears in her eyes. Mantis gasped quietly. For as long as he'd known her, Tigress had never cried before, but that was all about to change.

Tigress was... hard to explain. She loved to train, always craving to be the best. She was very strong, brave, fearless, aggressive, violent, surprisingly nice to children, a very good leader, and also very beautiful.

'Maybe she isn't so hard to describe,' Mantis thought. She was the big sister of the Five; she always watched out for them, making many sacrifices despite what harm they brought to her. She was very intimidating, but anyone that knew her realized that it was because she was afraid to show emotion. She could take down a whole army of men by herself. She and Viper had actually went on a mission one time (with the only other person him, though he wasn't needed) where they had used their looks to infiltrate an army camp, and slowly take it down from the inside in a course of two weeks. He had asked one night after he had snuck in why they were dragging it out, and they said that they were having too much fun. The only one that came out with scratches was Tigress, and she said it was because of the fight, but he doubted it since she avoided his eyes. He really believed a man had gotten rough with her (there was this huge lion there that she had fought with extra fierceness), but he knew that she would deny everything if he asked. And when the day finally came to attack them all, they had done swimmingly against three hundred men (there were four hundred, but they had gotten rid of a hundred in the two weeks they were there). They had talent. And even though Tigress didn't seem like the type, she liked to go shopping. She had even once convinced an adolecent Crane to go with her, even though Crane preferred to stay out of the crowded town.

His eyes were brought to Monkey. Usually he would fight with weapons, or maybe even practice his Ariel attacks. But this time, he was attacking the Adversary, clawing and yelling the whole time.

Monkey wasn't usually this violent. He was always the most approachable of the Five. He usually stayed quiet, settling for a thumbs-up if needed. He would crack jokes, having a wonderful sense of humor. He was the little brother; there to help you even though he was the youngest. He was very skilled with his weapons, and his right-hook was killer. He and Mantis were great friends. They always went everywhere together. They would always play pranks together.

There was this one time that they put white fur hair dye in Tigress's shampoo, and even managed to convince her she was albino. Of course, she was furious when it washed out and she found out what they did. Once again, they hid behind Crane and Viper while they remotely calmed her down. Monkey was the one that came up with it, the genius bastard.

Monkey stepped off the course wordlessly, leaving the Training Hall and ignoring the harsh rain and wind. Mantis frowned, planning on talking to him later. Right now he had to get Tigress to calm down before she hurt herself... or someone else in her blind rage.

"Uh, Tigress?" he called, stepping out of the shadow.

She ignored him, destroying a spiked club. It shattered, but a spike remained embedded in her paw. She ignored that too.

"Tigress, you need to rest," he said calmly. "You could get an infection."

"Wouldn't want that," she growled. "After all, I could be the last one of my species soon." She stepped off the course, glaring at Mantis and panting. She held out her injured hand.

Mantis went and grabbed a First Aid Kit (they always had one in the Training Hall). He grabbed her paw, studying it. It didn't look too bad; she'd had worse. It looked more like a splinter, but splinters could get infected too.

"This might hurt a little," he warned. He yanked the spike out, glancing at her face. She didn't even flinch.

As he cleaned and bandaged her paw, he couldn't help but feel some envy. He wished that he never felt any pain. Tigress was the most bad-ass person he had ever met, but he still felt jealous. She could train until her back bone broke, but she would still walk. It was just one of the things that made her Tigress, for lack of better words.

Once he was done, she pulled her paw back. "Thanks."

"Welcome," he smiled, but then it died down. "Everything'll be okay."

"How do you know?" she demanded.

He paused. "I don't." When she looked at him like he was crazy, he continued. "I don't know what will happen. But I do know that you should always look on the bright side. I know you always look on the negative, and that's okay, but then again, it's not. Don't dwell in the past, don't dream of the future, concentrate your mind on the present moment."

Looking at her incredulous face, he turned to leave. "But that's just my opinion."

"Li!" she shouted. At his real name, he looked back. She smiled softly. "Thank you."

Mantis chuckled. "No problem, Stripes."

_**~Kitty~**_

"Don't dwell in the past... on the present future," is a quote from Buddha.

The conservation status is like this (from extinct to lower risk):

Extinct- Extinct in the Wild- Critically Endangered- Endangered- Vulnerable- Conservation Dependent- Near Threatened- Least Concern

_**HELP THE ANIMALS SO THEY NEVER HAVE TO GO EXTINCT!**_ *sniffle* Pour, cute _red pandas_! Poor _red-crowned cranes_! Poor _pandas_! Poor _golden langurs_! Poor _South China tigers_! Poor tigers in general! Did you know that three subspecies of tigers are already extinct? And those are just a few of the animals that could go extinct!

The states are passing a law in the state of Wyoming (I think that's how you spell it) and Colorado (I think Colorado; not sure) that you shoot wolves on sight! There are less than three hundred wolves left in Wyoming! Are you outraged? Cause I am!

Anyway, I feel like I had them a little OOC, but I wanted Mantis to be sympathetic. These are his views on what the Five are to him.

I feel like in their world it would be a big deal, just like it was to Manny in Ice Age.

Constructive criticism welcomed; just be nice.

And please check out my other KFP story, "Bully" please! And "Furious" by Peter the Muggle!

Mantis's real name, Li means "Strength"

_**~Kitty~**_


End file.
